Awning, Bike Rack. & power tongue jack |
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AmberKate
Newbie Joined: 07 Mar 2016 Location: Rockledge, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 34 |
Topic: Awning, Bike Rack. & power tongue jack Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 2:18pm |
Well at long last! My Fiamma Awning has been installed by my intrepid Son, of course - it was his Mother's Day gift to me! And here it is being showcased at campsite # 95 at Fort De Soto Campground! Love the awning it is easy to put up and take down in case of blustery winds or severe rain... I am careful not to leave it up if going away for the day I watched someone's van awning get twisted into a pretzel during a pretty rough storm! All the owners from Europe (where it was designed - although it is made here in the United States in Orlando, FL - currently accepting orders) are cautious on this front too. As a sad note, you may have read about the shooting at the Fiamma plant in Orlando...many of the people I dealt with were victims and I ask you take just a moment here in their memory. Thanks.
But wait! There is more... thinking I wanted to take my bike with me, we also installed not only the Jack It bike rack from Lippert, but while we ( - well mostly he) had to take the tongue jack apart to do that, he also installed a power tongue jack! As to the bike rack...as you can see in the pix it can be very high off the ground... I couldn't carry the bike up the step ladder to put it up there (there are no instructions anywhere to be found on guidelines for doing thing) it was by trial & error I learned that my big bike had to go on the top - and I ended up having to readjust the stabilizing posts * foam guards several times to get them in the correct position. As to the height... my brilliant son suggested to me to just lower the jack as far as possible while I load the bike... DUH! but okay it worked and although I did have to get on the ladder still it was mainly to get the straps on! If you are wondering about the propane tanks, I was able to get the pliable cover off & on to change the tanks without having to remove the rack. As to the tongue jack... should have gotten one that wired directly to the battery instead of hooking to the 7 prong adapter...I am looking for instructions on how to adapt it as I understand there are some out there... having to back the TV in close to get power to the jack while I raise & lower it to get the bike on is bad enough, but the TV is so close that I have to unhook the jack, move the TV to make room to put the bike up/off and then move the TV back so I can raise the tongue again grrrrrrrr... live & learn!!! |
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AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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Leo B
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4514 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 3:35pm |
Nice!!
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Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2634 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 4:08pm |
I like the look of that awning. Did you have the structure reinforced to hold the awning? I would be very curious if there are issues in that regard.
And is that the F45 or the F65? The bike rack looks very interesting, but also a PITA to load and unload.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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AmberKate
Newbie Joined: 07 Mar 2016 Location: Rockledge, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 34 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 8:21pm |
Hey Glue Guy (should we ask???)
The structure is not reinforced... but my son was quite particular as to exactly where the mounting brackets should go. This is the F45S - 10 ft. We studied the factory tour videos and took in account stability going down the road - although we were told 2 sets of brackets would be fine, we choose to over-engineer as this not a cheap item & I didn't want to see it ripped off and laying on the side of the road - the peace of mind was worth the cost of the 3rd set of brackets. As to the bike rack - I am warming up to it once it is not such an ordeal to get the jack up & down, I am sure I will like it even better. I do feel that the bikes themselves are pretty darn secure once you get them configured correctly and strapped down.
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AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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AmberKate
Newbie Joined: 07 Mar 2016 Location: Rockledge, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 34 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 8:30pm |
I really like the awning! EZ up & down and then there is SHADE!
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AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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fwunder
Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2017 at 8:55pm |
Great job on the awning Tootsie (is that being presumptuous? ;) )
The bike thing is just a bit too high for my comfort level. I can still bench press, but clean and jerk is just not possible. I went with Swagman 64664 Hitch rack. Has worked out great for me mainly cuz I had the space on my hitch to put it. Also, nice job on the picture posting!! Do you play checkers on that carpet? fred
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2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
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AmberKate
Newbie Joined: 07 Mar 2016 Location: Rockledge, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 34 |
Posted: 26 Jun 2017 at 4:09pm |
Fred,
My doctor told me I need weight bearing exercise! Actually just running the tongue jack all the way down gets it to a point where I can get the bike down fairly easily...I just haven't figured out how to do that without getting the grease from the chain all over me! Little WD-40 gets it off every time!. Actually, my spare is on my hitch & I was told that FR says no to bikes on that hitch (one would think they would actually be lighter than the spare???) Anyway as to checkers... Tootsie has no opposable thumbs so she is really quite useless when it comes to board games... no matter how large they are!
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AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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voisj
Senior Member Joined: 19 Jul 2016 Location: San Luis Obispo Online Status: Offline Posts: 471 |
Posted: 26 Jun 2017 at 11:04pm |
Nice!!
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breckhamiltons
Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 2017 Location: Breckenridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 1 |
Posted: 01 Oct 2017 at 11:07pm |
Great job on the awning. We have been looking closely at the Fiamma awnings for our 179. Can you please tell us what adapter mounts you used to mount yours? Any extra details (and pictures) you and your intrepid son can provide would be hugely appreciated.
(I have been scouring the Web for over a year hoping to find a post like yours.) Thank you! |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2591 |
Posted: 02 Oct 2017 at 1:04pm |
Very nice setup. both the awning and bike rack. I've been thinking about how to set up a bike rack and now I have some new ideas.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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